Stripper and feeder unit



4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 28, 1958 L m F RAYMOND MORSE ATTORNEY April 1962 v R. MORSE 3,028,029

STRIPPER AND FEEDER UNIT Filed Oct. 28, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3.

7-? "1 1: 48' I: I l I I l l l l u FIG. 4. INVENTOR J RAYMOND L. MORSE ATTORNEY April 3, 1962 R. L. MORSE STRIPPER AND FEEDER UNIT Filed Oct. 28, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 6.

INVENTOR RAYMOND L. MORSE BYWy /W ATTORNEY April 3, 1962 R. L. MORSE 3,028,029

STRIPPER AND FEEDER UNIT Filed Oct. 28, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. IO.

INVENTOR.

RAYMOND L. MORSE ATTORNEY United -In recent years there has become popular a certain type of confectionary product which comprises a pastry cone filled with ice cream and wrapped in an outer conical paper jacket.

Although the manufacture of these confectionary items may vary somewhat among different manufacturers, in a typical operation, the cones are baked by a commercial bakery, packed in cartons and shipped to dairies where the cones are removed from the cartons and fed to a machine that forms a paper jacket that is subsequently supported at various stationsand into which the cones are inserted, then filled with fluid ice cream. The open ends of the paper jackets are then closed and the completed item discharged for transfer to storage at freezing temperatures to solidify the fiuid ice cream.

In some operations, the pastry cones are placed in the paper jackets by the bakery and furnished in this form to the-dairies, thus relieving thedairies of thesteps of forming the jackets and putting the cones in them. However, even these jacketed cones must be fed manually one or two at a time to the filling machine which is laborious and time consuming.

'Jacketed cones --are conventionally packed in cartons in layers, each layer consisting of a filler in the form of a cardboard sheet containing apertures for receiving and supporting the cones, theapertures being of a diameter smaller than the widest part of the cones.

The general object of this invention is the; provision of apparatus for receiving a layer of such jacketed cones, stripping the filler therefrom and feeding the jacketed cones to a machine which will perform all the subsequent operations needed to complete the manufacture of the product, including filling the cones with ice cream and closing the jacket.

Another object of the invention is the provision of such apparatus having a slideway along which the jacketed cones are conveyed after being stripped from their cardboard fillers, and means for discharging the cones serially.

A further object of the invention is the provision of such an apparatus in which the slideway is in an inclined plane to cause the cones to move downwardly thereon by gravity and means at the bottom of the slideway for retaining a column of the cones and discharging them serially.

These objects and still further objects, advantages and features of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter from the following description considered together with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an embodiment of the invention, partly broken away.

FIG. 2 is a section along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a section along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a section along the line 44 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a portion of FIG. 1 illustrating the manner in which the fillers are stripped from the cones.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the embodiment.

FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 are fragmentary plan views of the lower end of the slideway showing the escapement arms or anchors in diiferent positions relative to the cones being operated upon.

FIG. 10 is a side elevational view, partly in section atent it is supported on the frame ICQ of a fragmentary portion of the apparatus on a larger scale of a part of the oscillating mechanism.

FIG. 11 is a section along the line 11-11 of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a section along the line 12-12 of FIG. 11.

Referring with more particularity to the drawing in which like numerals designate like parts, the embodiment illustrated comprises, generally, a stripping and feeding unit A and a filling unit B.

The filling unit B comprises a horizontal turret 21 rotatably mounted on a frame structure 22 which may be provided portable by means of ground wheels or casters 23.

Power for rotating the turret is provided by an electric motor 24 mounted on the frame structure. The turret 21 is provided with a plurality, of apertures 25 adjacent the periphery for receiving and supporting the ice cream cones 26 delivered to the turret by the stripping and feeding unit A.

A stationary cylindrical housing 27 is disposed concentrically of the turret 21 and is supported on the frame structure 22. This housing contains compartments that are not shown in the drawing for holding materials to be used in filling the ice cream cones, including soft ice cream, chocolate syrup, etc. These materials are fed to members schematically shown at 28, 29, 3d, 31, 32, and

' 33 through conduits 34, 35, '36, 37, 38 and 39, respectively.

unit is shown only schematically.

one side of the tmret and of the unit B by means of a hollow post or column 46 The base 41 of the unit A rests on and it is secured to the top of the column 40.

Sloping outwardly and upwardly from the base 41 is a pole 42, the lower end of which is secured cantileverwise to a socket 43 of the base 41. To the upper end of the pole 42' there is secured a rack 44 comprising parallel spaced bars each being bent and arranged to provide a horizontal portion 45, 46 and 47 and a connecting arm 48, 49 and 56, respectively, to which the pole is attached through a cross bar 51.

The portions 45, 46 and 47 are parallel to each other and spaced apart laterally an amount to admit the lower ends of the cones of a layer of the cones 26 supported on a filler sheet 52 while the filler sheet rests on and is supported by the same portions 45, 46 and 47 as clearly shown in FIG. 2.

Fixed to the base 41 are brackets in the form of spaced parallel plates 53, 54 and 55, to which sloping or inclined parallel bars 56, 57 and58 respectively, are secured and which form together a slideway for the transfer of the jacketed cones from the rack 44 to the turret 21.

The upper portions of the bars 56, 57 and 58 are bent in a gradual curve so that their ends form rearwardly extending fingers 59, 60 and 61, respectively, above and vertically aligned with the portions 45, 46 and 47, respectively. As a result of this arrangement, a layer of the cones 26 may be placed on the horizontal portion of the rack 42, as shown in FIG. 1, with the filler sheet 52 resting on the bars 45, 46 and 47 and the portions of the cones 26 below the filler sheet disposed between the same bars. In this position, when the layer is moved toward the fingers 59, 60 and 61, the cones will engage and be supported by the fingers and the filler sheets 52 will move to a position below the fingers, thereby permitting the sheets to be stripped from the cones by a force acting downwardly on the sheet, as shown in FIG. 5. The force may be delivered manually or by some mechanical arrangement (not shown).

After being thus stripped, the cones 26 continue to move down the slideway bars 56, 57 and 58, in columns.

The unit A is disposed on At the lower end of the siideway, there is provided means for retaining the cones in columns on the slideway and for discharging them one at a time from each column. A preferred means for this purpose is illustrated in the drawing and it comprises a pair of oscillating escapernent anchors 62 and 63. These anchors are fixed to the upper ends of oscillatable shafts 64 and 65, respectively, said shafts being mounted in upper bearings 66, 67 and lower thrust bearings 68, 69.

To each shaft 64 and 65 there is secured a bevel gear 70 and '71, respectively, which meshes with a bevel gear 72 and 73 respectively.

The bevel gears 72 and 73 are both secured to a single cross shaft 74 for simultaneous oscillation therewith. An arm 75 has a clamp 76 at one end and it is therewith secured to the cross shaft 71. This clamp feature makes it possible to adjust the angular relation between the arm 75 and the shaft 74. The other end of the arm comprises a threaded shank 77 engaging a longitudinal threadr ed socket 78 to vary the eifective length of the arm. The outer end '79 of the shank 77 is a boss which fits between the bifurcations 8t and 81 at the upper end of a vertical rod 82 and is pivotally connected thereto by a bolt 83. The rod 82 passes downwardly through the hollow column 40 to a point below where it is pivotally attached to an eccentric arm 84 of a cam wheel 85. The wheel 85 is secured to or integral with a horizontal shaft 86 rotatably mounted in bearings 87 and 83 on hangers 8'9 and 99, respectively, suspended from the frame structure, substantially as shown.

The other end of the shaft 86 is fixed to a beveled gear 91 which meshes with a bevel gear 92 secured to a take-off shaft 593 of the motor 24.

By these means, actuation of the motor causes the shaft 86 to rotate and the rod 82 to reciprocate, thereby oscillating the arm 75 and shaft 74 which oscillations are transmitted to the escapement arms 62 and 63.

As the cones are discharged by this escapement mechanism serially, the action thereof being clearly illustrated in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9, they come to rest against an abutment shield 94 which comprises a sheet of material in the shape of two adjacent semi-cylindrical cylinders disposed vertically above the path of travel of the apertures 25 of the turret 21. Consequently, after abutting this shield, the cones fall by gravity onto the turret and are then carried by the turret to the filling stations for further operations.

The shield 94 is supported in position by a bracket 95 attached to the base member 41.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A stripper and feeder unit for removing ice cream cones from a flexible filler sheet on which the cones are held in apertures with their upper parts above and their lower parts extending below the plane of the sheet, said unit comprising a base member, a plurality of laterally spaced horizontal rods above the base member to support the sheet in a horizontal position with the lower parts of the cones extending downwardly through the spaces between the rods, a rigid member secured at one end to the base member and having its other end extending upwardly to a point below said rods, said rods having arm portions extending downwardly and secured to said rigid member, a plurality of laterally spaced stripper bars secured to the base member and extending upwardly to a point above the said rods, the upper portions of said bars curving so as to provide a camming surface on the underside which is adapted to engage and strip the sheet from the cones and an upper surface adapted to support the cones in sliding relation independently of the sheet, whereby the cones when thus stripped will slide down said bars free of the sheet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,235,855 Turnbull Mar. 25, 1941 2,297,330 Schoepfer Sept. 29, 1942 2,419,351 Glassner Apr. 22, 1947 2,543,578 Hutafi Feb. 27, 1951 2,636,624 Fahey Apr. 28, 1953 2,639,076 Kerr May 19, 1953 2,845,161 Lerch July 29, 1958 

